Bertoia Side Chair Upholstered

bertoia side chair upholstered

Harry Bertoia's 1950 experiment with bending metal rods into practical art produced a revered collection of seating, including the exquisite Bertoia side chair. Innovative, comfortable and strikingly handsome, the chair's delicate appearance belies its strength and durability. In Bertoia's own words, "If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them." A classic, modern design that enhances any environment, Bertoia's side chair remains a fascinating study in bent metal and a fixture of mid-century design. Knoll is the only authorized and licensed manufacturer of the Bertoia Collection which has been in continuous production since 1952.

Fully upholstered Bertoia side chair is not suitable for outdoor use.

21.75" w | 19.75" d | 28.75" h | seat: 17.75" h

$1,057.00 + plus shipping in the continental U.S.
(please allow 8-12 weeks for this special chair to be created and shipped to your location)

In addition to designing furniture, Italian-born Harry Bertoia (1915 -1978) was an artist and sound art sculptor. At age 15, he moved to Detroit from Italy after intending only to visit, and began studying art and design. In 1938 he attended the Art School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, now known as the College for Creative Studies. The following year in 1939 he received a scholarship to study at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 1939, he opened his own metal workshop and taught jewelry design and metal work, focusing mostly on the jewelry as the war made metal an expensive commodity.

Hans Knoll, the son of a pioneer German furniture manufacturer, founded the Knoll company in New York City in 1938, one year after immigrating from Germany. He hired Florence Schust, a Cranbrook graduate who had worked for Gropius and Breuer, and the two were married in 1946. The next year, they opened a textiles division and showroom that was flanked with some of the worlds leading designers. Knoll would triumph thanks to impressive international contacts, gaining exclusive rights to the works of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and producing them to their original specifications. This included the 1929 Barcelona Chair. They also commissioned Eero Saarinen to design the now iconic Tulip chair, and hold the rights to Marcel Breuer’s seminal Wassily Chair. Artists such as Harry Bertoia, Jens Risom, and Isamu Noguchi would also collaborate with Knoll.